I am a woman 69 ys old and have been diagnosed wi a 2.2 cm adominal aortic aneurysm. What precautions will I have to take regarding work , exercise and anything in general I am deinitely upset about this finding

Hi there,Thanks for writing in.I am a qualified cardiologist and I read your mail with diligence.

The idea is to halt the progression means same as prevention of development of a new one. This could be achieved by:

To reduce the risk of developing aneurysms or halt the progression of the one:•Eat a heart-healthy diet, exercise, stop smoking (if you smoke), and reduce stress to help lower your chances of having a blocked artery again.

•Your health care provider may give you medicine to help lower your cholesterol.

•If you were given medicines for blood pressure or diabetes, take them as your doctor has asked you to.

Yes to aerobic exercises: best is brisk walking say two miles in 35 minutes in the morning and one mile (at times) in the evening. No weight lifting or any isometric exercises.Keep your stress level low. Do Meditation, Yoga or indulge in any hobby. Please do not keep thinking about aneurysm as if it were a time bomb. I have followed up many a abdominal aortic aneurysm for 15-20 years without endovascular surgery. Blood pressure ought to be on lower side. The regular balanced diet would be fine. Go easy on sweets and fats/oils etc. Do not gain weight. Imagine few years ago we do not have means to diagnose abdominal aneurysms. Still, there are very few reported cases of complications. Incidence of abdominal aneurysm has not changed in population that I assure you. It is diagnosed so you are upset. Please do not be so.

what do you mean by isometric exercise.I am not quite familar with it. I do go to the gym, and I guess I have to stop doing the machine. I attend an arthritis class at the XXXXXXX ctr and we do use slight weights. Is this going to harm me. I like yogaalso. Please advise. Thank you. Will be seeing my primary Tuesday.

Answered by Dr. Anil Grover 45 minutes later

answer Id 71555; conversation id 67945

Hello,

Thanks for writing back. I appreciate your pertinent questions. Let me try to answer to the best of my knowledge.

May be you are not familiar with the term but, of course, you know what an exercise means when it is done against resistance, I am afraid when excess of this form of exercise is done it against resistance. It might increase peripheral vascular resistance thus increasing blood pressure, thereby chance of exerting lateral pressure on the wall of aneurysm, which can be detrimental. Well, if only light exercise is done I see no harm in it.

So, isometric exercise is a form of resistance training in which the participant uses the muscles of the body to exert a force either against an immovable object or to hold the muscle in a fixed position for a set duration of time. In this type of exercise, the muscle is contracted but does not change length during the exertion of force. Additionally the joint most closely associated with the effort remains static throughout the exercise.

Although isometric exercises may result in a great deal of benefit to the individual, there are some precautions that should be noted. Specifically those with high blood pressure should not engage in this type of activity because isometric exercises cause a spike in blood pressure. Although the blood pressure typically returns to normal rather quickly once the muscle is relaxed, the spike in blood pressure can be XXXXXXX to those who already suffer from elevated blood pressure. If you suffer from high blood pressure but you really want to engage in isometric exercises, please consult with your doctor for tips on how to lower blood pressure first.

Other considerations when performing isometric exercises include the duration of time each action is held, as well as the angle of the joint when the action is formed. The duration of time an isometric exercise is performed is comparable to the number of repetitions performed in other types of strength training exercises. For strength training purposes, a duration of 3-5 seconds per exercise is optimal. However, when body weight is used as resistance, longer durations of more than 10 seconds are required. In terms of joint angle, it is important to note that the muscle will only gain strength for the joint angle at which the exercise is performed. Individuals who want to gain strength through the entire full range of motion of the muscle should consider training at intervals of ten to 30 degrees. However, this can be rather time consuming.

The following are examples of different forms of isometric exercises that help to improve the strength of muscles such as the abdominals, shoulders, quadriceps and calves. Knowing all the facts you can choose / limit the type of exercise you ought to do. No problem with using slight weight of arthritis training class.

I am impressed that you like yogic exercises. I will write about the progressive muscular relaxation which is used for non pharmacological treatment of blood pressure. This has opposite effect to heavy isometric exercise. Additionally, this is a great stress buster. It is called Savasana: corpse pose if literally translated.

No yoga session is complete without the final pose – Savasana. The body needs this time to understand the new information it has received through practicing yoga. Even though Savasana is a resting pose, it’s not the same a sleeping! You should stay present and aware during the five to ten minute duration of final relaxation.

Instructions:

1. Come to lie down on the back.

2. Let the feet fall out to either side.

3. Bring the arms alongside the body, but slightly separated from the body, and turn the palms to face upwards.

4. Relax the whole body, including the face. Let the body feel heavy.

5. Let the breath occur naturally.

6. To come out, first begin to the deepen the breath. Then move the fingers and toes, awakening the body.

7. Bring the knees into the chest and roll over to one side, keep the eyes closed.

8. Slowly bring yourself back up into a sitting position.

Here are some ideas on ways to use props during savasana to make this pose more comfortable and relaxing.

If there is any further query I will be most happy to answer asap. It is a pleasure interacting with you.With Best Wishes.